Court Faction

The Court Faction was a political clique of conservative courtiers in Tokugawa Shogunate-era Japan that supported the power of the Imperial Court over the Tokugawa bakufu. The Court Faction supported the authority of the Emperor over the shogun, causing friction with the reactionary Shogunate Faction. The Court Faction held very similar views to the Shogunate Faction, apart from less extreme economic policy views, but its views on the government of Japan differed greatly. The Court Faction would gain strength after the Shogunate angered the Japanese people by engaging in dealings with the Westerners and allowing for Japan to be opened to foreign trade, and it ultimately seized power from the Shogunate during the Boshin War. After the Emperor was restored to power, the Court Faction was split into the Imperialist Faction and the Nationalist Faction of Japan.